Tomorrow I get to take my behind the wheel test, and if all
goes well, I will be a California licensed driver. This has been a LONG,
hard and sometimes what felt impossible, road. Looking back on every
experience, I can proudly say that I have grown from it and am much
appreciative of the progress I’ve made. Let me tell you what it took for
me to get to this point.
Before I began the process of starting my driving journey, I
had spent a lot of time talking to other people who have accessible
vehicles and how they went through the process. I took their experience
and advice, and pieced together my own goal. I walked to this not
knowing how long this would take, where to even start or exactly what I
wanted. Every piece of my two year journey was being decided and planned
out as it happened.
I am writing this for you; I understand that my journey might
be a lot different than yours might be, but I feel it’s important to
share my story. I appreciated all of the views I received beforehand,
and it helped me more than I knew.
So here we go! Rewinding to the summer of 2010. About a week
after my graduation, I did some research for hand control training and
installation places in San Diego. I got in contact with a place at Sharp
Rehab Hospital, that did trainings and hand control certifications.
After being transferred to a few different people, I found out that
their program doesn’t accept new/beginner drivers like myself. They only
work with licensed drivers who need the hand control certification and
minimal hours of training. I thanked them for their information, and had
to pick myself back up. Back to square root 1.
About a month after I graduated, I attended a leadership
program for youth with disabilities (Youth Leadership Forum, YLF) and
there, I learned a lot about different resources available for me. One
of these being Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/.
I had heard a lot of people tell me stories of how DOR helped them pay for the equipment in their car, and training for beginner drivers. So I scheduled an initial appointment with a counselor and learned that they would be able to help me cover the modifications for my car since it would help me reach my employment goal. My counselor told me the first few steps: get my permit, get an authorization for the evaluation place, and then I can get measured for equipment.
So fast forward a few months, I studied my butt off for the
written test and passed! Permit, check.
Now, onto getting DOR to sign
off on the authorization.
The authorization goes through for me to go do my first evaluation at Mobility Evaluations Program in Santa Fe Springs http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/MEP/. Authorization, check. My parents and I drove up early one morning,
and started off with an initial occupational therapist to test my
strength/abilities so that we can measure up the proper equipment for
me. After 3 hours, I was finally able to talk with the engineers. This
is when we decided to use hand controls and find some sort of lift or
ramp to get my wheelchair in and out of the car. For the time being, we
left my chair in the trunk, and off we went. Based on how I drove with
the instructors and engineers, was determined how many hours of training
I would need. A bid, or list of equipment I was planning on using was
written up, along with any other modifications. In my case I had the
following: hand controls, low-effort steering, lift/ramp for my
wheelchair, and a cushion so that I would be at the proper height to see
over the steering wheel. I’m only 4’1”, so seeing past the wheel was
definitely a problem. Measurements, check.
After we wrote up the equipment that was going to be
installed/modified, it was now my responsibility to find a vehicle that
fit our budget, less than 70,000 miles on it, no older than a 2007,
crash tested and approved with modifications, and capable to fit my
needs. Seemed like a huge bill to fit at first. I was so overwhelmed
with the new responsibility I had, but I took this as a challenge, and
made it my job to find the answers to. So my dad and I sought out ideas
for cars. What did other people have? What combinations are available?
Different styles of lifts, warranty, reliability, practicality etc. This
process took a lot of time. It took us a while to find what option
would fit me and my abilities the best, and would also be reliable
enough to last me through college (the next five years).
We started our research online. Looking at cars that fit all of
the above listed requirements, and as we quickly learned, it did not
come with a small price tag. I also had done research at the Los Angeles
Abilities Expo. There they have a lot of resources for cars, and
connection of people who are able to guide me in the right direction.
This is when I met a woman named Martine Kempf http://www.kempf-usa.com.
I saw her new mechanism for hand controls, and it’s not like anything
I’ve ever seen before. (See attached link! It’s new bounds for assistive
technology). I got the chance to sit in her test car at the expo, and
thought that this is something I would like to pursue. Martine then
connected me with a man who had recently installed her system of hand
controls in his modified van, and encouraged me to contact him (since he
was local in San Diego). This is when I connected with Steve and his
family. He brought his van to my house and I got a test drive in his
newly equipped car. It had all the bells and whistles, including my
dream hand controls. After our conversation about his process with
getting the modifications, we started talking about his lift that he
also had installed. It was a product by Adapt Solutions, a company in
Canada http://www.adapt-solutions.ca
. The Speedy Lift, is a basic mechanism that picks up a manual chair
from behind the drivers seat. There is a base that picks up the bottom
of the frame from your chair and brings it right into the car. Their
company also sells transfer boards from a manual wheelchair, to the
drivers seat. At first, I didn’t think this is something I would, but
looking back at it now, I’m glad that I did. I had never seen, or heard
of the company before, so I was able to get another great connection
from this first meeting with Steve.
With all of this new information, I had created a solid list of
equipment I was ‘window shopping’ for. Now, I just needed to find the
car that would fit this equipment. I called the company directly and
asked them which types of vehicles could be adapted to work with the
lifts. My options were a Chrysler Minivan, a Town&Country Minivan,
a Mazda5, a Toyota Sienna, or a Honda Element. From this conversation I looked
into Elements. I wasn’t too thrilled on having a van for a few reasons.
One, I felt that the car was too big for me to handle as a first car. I
wanted something smaller, but enough cushion to protect me out on the
road. Two, vans are typically more expensive, and sit up higher from the
ground than the other vehicles which was another concern that I had.
So, I put my energy into researching the Honda Element.
Once I brought back all my information to the engineers at
Mobility Evaluation, they were thrilled to hear about the new equipment
that I was looking into. Unfortunately, the type of hand controls that I
wanted was out of DOR’s price range, so I ended up going with the push
angle standard hand controls. I also included the transfer board and
lift into my wish list for DOR. Those two items were approved. As for
the Honda Element, the engineers steered clear from that. What I learned
is that Elements have not been property crash tested and passed with
all of the equipment installed. So what does this mean? Basically, the
state will not pay for equipment to be installed into a vehicle if they
have not been properly crash tested. Back to the drawing board for
vehicles. Next, was the Mazda5. It is essentially a ‘mini-minivan’,
pre-approved by the engineers, and will accommodate the lift that I
wanted as well. With this decision, my parents and I found a used 2008
Mazda5 with 68,000 miles on it, and great condition. A few days later
and some proper negotiating, the car was mine!
Now, it was Mobility Evaluation’s responsibility to send out
the bid (list of equipment) and see who in San Diego would be installing
my equipment into my car.
A few months go by, and we finally get a response from Ability
Center in San Diego. I was in contact with one of their general managers
at our first meeting. The initial bid was not processed correctly and
there was a miscommunication between Mobility Evaluation, and Ability
Center, so a few more weeks went by. They fixed the corrections, and now
we were able to order the parts for my equipment. About a week passes
and all of the equipment was finally delivered. Because I ordered the
lift from Canada, the shipping process took a little bit longer to get
verified. At this point, I was able to bring my car down to San Diego
for the installation process to begin. The engineers who would be
working on my car told me that they would have my car for 4-6 weeks.
After all the equipment installed, I went back down to San Diego for a
fitting to make sure the equipment was going to work for me. Initially, I
was supposed to use a push-right angle hand control, but because of the
way my car was formatted, and the position I was sitting in, I wasn’t
able to use those hand controls to their fullest extent. So we went back
to the drawing board and decided that I could use push-rock hand
controls. The mechanism is still the same, which was no problem for me.
(This is the part where I tell you to double, even triple check your
equipment. Make sure you are 110% comfortable with everything because
otherwise, it will make your driving experience more difficult.)
After I did the first fitting, I waited for them to install the new type of hand controls, and also for the cushions to be delivered. Since I am only 4’1” it would be impossible for me to see over the steering wheel if I didn’t have a cushion. So, meanwhile, I had to go back to the DMV. It had been over a year when I first got my permit, so I needed to renew it. I made an appointment, went back to the DMV, did all the paperwork, and passed my test. Now I was up to date with my permit, and was able to go out and test drive my car with the new hand controls once they were installed.
I got a call a few weeks later letting me know that my
equipment was installed, and the cushion had been delivered. So my mom
and I drove down there and did another fitting. The hand controls
weren’t in the exact right spot once I was in the correct sitting
position, so we had to make a few adjustments, and also the cushion
wasn’t ordered correctly. So more waiting, until the hand controls were
adjusted and the new cushion was made.
In the mean time, I called my counselor over at DOR, and asked
her who I was supposed to connect with as far as hand control training.
She then connected me with Jim, the engineer over at Mobility Evaluation
Program. I was then finally connected with Akim, who is a driving
instructor from Santa Monica. He specializes in hand controls and behind
the wheel training. Once I got my car all equipped and finalized, then
it was time for Jim to inspect all that was installed. Once Mobility
Evaluation Program signed off on the equipment, then a federal inspector
came from Arizona to finalize the inspection.
This whole process took about another 2 weeks, and then I was able to have the car delivered to me.
The following week after I had the car back in my own driveway, I started my behind the wheel training with Akim.
I started out with 10 hours each weekend, to fulfill my 30 hour
requirement as written by DOR. Initially, I was really anxious to learn
how to drive, but as time went on, I was able to be more confident. I
had a really great experience with my instructor. He set up his training
the same way as the DMV examiners would, which helped me so much.
Looking back, I felt like the process would never end. I am
proud of myself for going through this whole experience and learning how
to navigate everything on my own. I have been able to share my
experience with other people and I hope that this helps in any way.
Remember, this is my own personal experience. Yours can, and probably
will be completely different.
To read more about Rosie, go to:
http://rmcdonnell.tumblr.com/post/32810019584/getting-on-the-road
Do you have an AT success story to share? Please enter it in the comment section below or email us at info@atnetwork.org.
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